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Luther and Zayne finally understood that the vice president had truly created a new card when Aizen appeared in the simple camp. But something felt off about his intensity.
Luther sensed something strange—the power radiating from this brown-haired man definitely didn't seem sufficient to handle the current secret realm threat. The square-faced director glanced furtively at his colleague beside him.
Zayne maintained his perpetual stone-faced expression, but ever since the vice president's sister had arrived, Luther noticed he seemed to be trying to minimize his presence. Interesting, Luther thought. Even Zayne is intimidated by that Diamond-rank woman.
"President Russell," Luther asked, just to be safe, "should our cards accompany him into the realm?"
Russell didn't respond immediately. Instead, he cast an inquiring look at Aizen.
The seemingly harmless man adjusted his glasses with a gentle smile. "That won't be necessary. Simply wait here."
"I'll inform Russell when the matter is resolved," Aizen added pleasantly.
Since the vice president's card had spoken, Luther didn't insist.
Under the watchful eyes of every cardmaker at the fortifications, the brown-haired man leisurely stepped through the portal into the secret realm.
"Grand Speaker, the Spellcaster Corps has fully assembled," Speaker Pyrro reported to the ancient leader with a grave expression.
The Grand Speaker released a heavy sigh. "Well then, success or failure depends on tomorrow's assault."
Despite his long years and countless battles, the pressure of this sudden crisis weighed heavily on him. This wasn't just a military campaign—it was a gamble with their entire world's survival.
Pyrro remained silent, understanding the Grand Speaker's intention perfectly. Going all-in against an unknown enemy world could only be described as desperate.
If we win, Pyrro thought, everyone survives. If we lose... extinction.
A spellcaster suddenly approached them urgently. "Grand Speaker! Another creature from the outside world has entered!"
"Attack with full force!" the Grand Speaker ordered without hesitation. "Make sure to keep him here—permanently!"
"Yes, sir!"
As soon as Aizen stepped into the secret realm, he was greeted by countless magical attacks raining down on him.
"What a grand welcome," he said with his gentle smile, pushing up his glasses. "Bakudō #81: Dankū."
The strongest defensive kidō manifested instantly without incantation. A transparent barrier appeared before Aizen as various attacks bombarded it, creating violent explosions. Crimson flames painted the blue sky red, and massive smoke clouds obscured everyone's vision.
"Is he dead?" The Grand Speaker arrived at the scene, watching as the Spellcaster Legion's attacks seemed to overwhelm the intruder.
As the smoke gradually dissipated, what appeared before everyone's eyes was a transparent barrier full of cracks. Behind it stood the unharmed man in black, an ordinary-looking sword now in his right hand.
CRACK!
The barrier shattered like glass as a calm voice reached everyone's ears:
"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."
As Aizen spoke those words, the Grand Speaker's pupils shrank. He immediately launched an attack.
The Grand Speaker watched with satisfaction as confusion and fear appeared on the black-clad man's face—right before his attack engulfed him completely.
In just a breath, the once-arrogant intruder was reduced to ashes, leaving no trace.
"So weak?" the Grand Speaker muttered, confused by how easily the opponent had been eliminated. It felt like stepping on an ant.
Yet something felt vaguely wrong.
Before he could analyze the feeling, Speaker Pyrro's voice brought him back. "As expected of you, Grand Speaker! You killed that beast with a single strike!"
"These outsiders underestimate us, sending such weak vanguards," Pyrro continued.
The Grand Speaker was silent for a moment, suppressing his doubts. "Notify everyone—the general offensive scheduled for tomorrow will be moved to midnight tonight."
The unease hanging over his heart was like impenetrable fog. Better to strike before anything else could go wrong.
Back at the fortifications, Russell's eyes suddenly gleamed. "You can enter now. Let's go."
Hazel entered the secret realm first without any hesitation.
Luther and Zayne exchanged bewildered glances. "It was resolved that quickly?"
"Could we have misjudged the threat?" Luther wondered aloud.
But since Hazel had already gone in, they had no reason to hesitate. They immediately led the cardmaker troops into the secret realm.
Luther and Zayne found themselves in the secret realm, taking in the messy ground and Hazel looking around curiously.
And there was the vice president's card—Aizen.
The brown-haired man stood with his hands tucked in his wide sleeves. "I'll trouble you all from now on."
Luther and Zayne remained confused, unable to figure out what had happened.
"Director Luther, Director Zayne," Russell's voice came from behind them. "Deploy your people immediately. We need to annihilate all demons near the entrance."
"Vice President, what's going on?" Luther asked after hesitating.
Before Russell could answer, a sword appeared in Aizen's hand. "My ability is to control the reflection of mist and water to disrupt the opponent's vision," he explained with the same wording from the original work—Russell's careful arrangement to hide Aizen's true power.
"So right now, they're looking at a completely empty entrance," Aizen continued.
He held the sword upright before him. "Just like this—shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."
Nothing visible happened.
The brown-haired man sheathed his blade, still smiling. "Just a joke. I wouldn't attack my companions."
Luther and Zayne were confused but attributed it to the new card's personality.
Seeing the supposedly heavily-guarded entrance now open like their backyard, both directors were speechless. Can a mere illusion really do this?!
Hazel was the only one who looked at Russell and Aizen with confusion, but after considering, said nothing.
Zayne wondered aloud, "Can water manipulation be used like this? Could Prime Minister Turtle learn this skill with training?"
His card could control water, so naturally it could control mist and flowing water, but he'd never considered this application before.
Or is this unique to his card? Zayne decided to train Prime Minister Turtle thoroughly after this matter was resolved.
Luther, meanwhile, had an epiphany. "No wonder your new card seemed a bit... odd. All its strength went into this deception ability!"
High EQ: Odd.
Low EQ: Weak.
Luther felt he'd discovered the truth. The vice president had sacrificed combat power to maximize the deception ability, solving East-Haven's crisis. Being able to fool so many demons at once—this ability alone must be top-tier Gold rank. No wonder other aspects seem weaker.
The new vice president sacrificed his own materials and card slots for East-Haven, Luther thought with growing respect. Meanwhile, our President Simon... well, the name fits. Dead horse.
Luther couldn't help feeling resentful toward their absent president.
"That [Spellcaster Priest] material the vice president took..." Luther remembered Russell had decided to create this card only after obtaining that material. So this brown-haired man definitely has more abilities than shown.
But exploring another cardmaker's abilities was taboo. Luther suppressed his curiosity.
Watching the square-faced director's expression shift from confusion to admiration, Russell said simply, "You two should deploy your forces."
"Yes, sir!"
The cardmaker troops quickly distributed themselves in orderly formation. Cards of all types were summoned, ready to launch their strongest attacks on Russell's command.
Looking at the demon camp surrounding the entrance, Russell said coldly, "Do it. Leave no survivors."
Countless attacks erupted in all directions, instantly overwhelming everything nearby.
Despite the massive commotion, Aizen's hypnosis still held—the demons saw nothing.
But Russell had Aizen temporarily release Kyoka Suigetsu's control. If we want Zayne convinced that I'm Lux, better not show too much power now. To deceive others, first deceive yourself.
After all, Aizen had claimed he could only use water and mist for camouflage. On Blue Star, Kyoka Suigetsu wouldn't be as overpowered as in the original work—various detection cards might exist.
Kyoka Suigetsu controls the five senses, not cognition itself. A card detecting energy fluctuations could see through it.
Fortunately, Russell only needed to deceive Zayne, who shouldn't have such detection cards.
The demons near the entrance, having no detection means, showed no defense against the sudden assault. Their fate was sealed.
The massive noise and simultaneous deaths attracted all the speakers' attention.
"WHO DARES?!" an angry voice roared.
The Grand Speaker appeared near the entrance with his gold-level speakers, only to see the Spellcaster Legion in ruins, heavy casualties everywhere.
His furious gaze fell on the entrance where he saw... the brown-haired man he'd "killed" earlier.
A growl escaped the old man's throat: "It's YOU!"
Aizen merely smiled at the ancient demon.
"When did you have the illusion that I didn't use Kyoka Suigetsu?"
Regret and anger consumed the Grand Speaker inch by inch. He regretted not being more careful, not being more decisive with saturation bombing.
The old man realized the truth—this brown-haired man had used illusion to deceive everyone, allowing the outside forces to enter silently.
"Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu..."
The Grand Speaker heard the sound of breaking glass in his memory, his pupils contracting. "It was THEN!"
He'd fallen under the illusion before his attack even landed. The price of his arrogance lay in countless spellcaster corpses.
Forcibly controlling his emotions, the Grand Speaker spoke through gritted teeth: "I'll make you pay in blood!"
Unfortunately, with the entrance captured, the tactical situation had reversed.
A blazing orange beam shot toward the demons. A colorful barrier appeared, blocking the attack—Pyrro's defense.
But without the Spellcaster Corps' support, his barrier was far weaker than before.
The massive black sand giant rose between heaven and earth as thick electromagnetic beams bombarded the colorful barrier.
Luther and Zayne weren't idle. [Flying Zombie] and [Prime Minister Turtle] appeared, launching their strongest attacks directly at the gold-level demons.
The barrier lasted only seconds before shattering. The demons faced the deadly combination of East-Haven's three Gold-rank cardmakers.
The demons weren't pushovers—several fast casters launched delaying attacks while others prepared their own offensive, managing to offset the incoming strikes.
"They're much weaker than before," Luther murmured with satisfaction.
Without their legion's support, the gold-level demons had dropped several power levels. When they invaded with legion backing, we barely drove them off using everything we had.
This is thanks to President Russell, Luther thought with relief.
Without Aizen's help, the cardmaker army would have had to sacrifice countless lives to seize the entrance—and success still wouldn't be guaranteed.
But under Kyoka Suigetsu's cover, East-Haven's forces had achieved the incredible: zero casualties.
Who would believe such a thing?
Of course, this assumed Hazel didn't need to act.
The Diamond-rank beauty—somewhat unapproachable in Luther's eyes—was watching her junior brother thoughtfully.
Russell calmly issued his next order: "Quick and decisive. Force them back first, then establish fortifications."
(End of Chapter 219)